Tuesday Results, Flight 10:
Spain Makes Four

SWE-96 led NZL-92 for the first leg in Flight 10, but Emirates then took over, knocking the Swedes out of the LVC.   Photo: ©2007 Stephanie Lamy

Tuesday Results:

 Desafío Español makes it into the Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-Finals!  Victory is out after losing to Emirates.  Big race tomorrow: BMW Oracle-Emirates Team New Zealand in the last Flight of the Rounds Robin.

Flight 10:
 Racing Complete: MLCT loses to Luna Rossa.  Victory loses the lead to ETNZ on the second leg, and then the race. Desafío Español loses today to BMW Oracle with Larry Ellison helming at the finish. Areva beats Germany, and +39 beats China.  Celebrations in the harbor for the Spanish!

View Updated RR2 Standings

Louis Vuitton Cup Semi-final Preview?  BMW Oracle easily bested Desafío Tuesday, but the Spanish couldn't have been happier.  They advanced to the semi's.  Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

Quotes:

Pepe Ribes, Bowman, Victory Challenge, on losing their Semi Final spot: "The key was in the start and we should have absolutely thrashed them. We were 15 seconds ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand but it wasn’t enough because their boat is very fast, they are possibly the best on the fleet for tacking. But if Emirates have starts like they did today, they won’t reach the final." 

Vasco Vascotto, Helmsman, Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, on a positive experience in the 32nd America’s Cup: "This was the most difficult Louis Vuitton Cup ever and we made a lot of beginner’s mistakes. I hope that there will be a next time so we can use all the experience we have gained up today. It would be a pity to throw it away because in Italy, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team has become really important."
More Quotes at ACM

Tuesday Outlook:

Weather:  ETNZ: SW 10-15 knots. RepCast: light early, but SSE breeze picks up mid-afternoon to about 7-11 knots at surface, more at the top of the rigs.

Matches of the Day:  Challenger selection hinges on a pair of huge matches today and they both involve the two teams fighting it out for the last semi-final slot going up against the top two teams in the standings.

Victory faces ETNZ in Match 5 and Desafío gets BMW Oracle in Match 6.  Neither the Swedes or the Spanish won these pairings even once during the Louis Vuitton Acts, but Desafío surprised many by beating BMW Oracle in the first round robin.

Victory trails Desafío by three points, needing to win their last two races while Desafío loses both of theirs.  Anything else and the Swedes go home. 

SWE won the head-to-head against ESP Monday to keep the pressure on.  But ETNZ is a fast boat, and Victory has yet to beat a "Big 3" team (though they did take a race off Alinghi way back when).  This is a steep slope, but Victory has rallied from a team that looked like it would close its doors just a couple years ago to a contender for the top 4.  Wolverines are known for their fight and Järv, SWE-96, gets another chance to show her teeth today.

Desafío found something extra in Round Robin 1 and was the first to beat BMW Oracle (the second being, of course, China's pasting of the top team after equipment failure took out their jib track).  Can ESP-97 strike twice?

Monday Racing, Flight 9

The pointy end?  SWE-96 is actually named Järv, Swedish for Wolverine, the fierce woodland creature small in size but big in fight.  Despite an early lead, it wasn't enough to beat Emirates Team New Zealand Tuesday in Flight 10.
Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

One sharp tool herself, Desafío Español intends to sail ESP-97 right into the Louis Vuitton Semi-final.  They face BMW Oracle Tuesday in Flight 10.
 Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Flight 9 Results:
+39 beats Shosholoza as the Italian score their first two points in RR2, Areva beats China Team, BMWO wins against Mascalzone, ETNZ defeats Luna Rossa and Victory Challenge gets the important win against Desafío.

View Round Robin Standings

Quotes:

Santiago Lange, Traveller, Victory Challenge, on their spinnaker drop: "Our arrival at the leeward gate didn’t go well. One minute from the layline there were two gybes to go.  We had to make the decision to lose it but it is actually quicker to execute a good maneuver than to dump the spinnaker.  For sure in the meeting today there will be a lot of questions about what went wrong."

Matt Wachowicz, Navigator, Desafío Español 2007 : "There is always a risk when dumping the spinnaker. It’s obvious that they did it for tactical reasons, they showed absolutely no intention of recovering it, they cut the lines and threw it over, and it’s not illegal.  But there is a risk, it can get caught on the boat and other boats can touch it, and that can be a problem.  Other teams have done it more or less the same in Acts in the past.  There is a risk -- it all depends on how much the team need to win to want to take that risk. The Swedish in this case really need to win now."

 More Quotes at ACM

Monday Outlook:
Weather:  ETNZ: SE 9-12 knots.  ACM: Light wind NE 5 knots early, veering E/SE with building sea breeze 12-14 knots in the afternoon.

Match of the Day:  That is an understatement.  Flight 4, Victory Challenge versus Desafío Español.  It's the showdown of the Round Robin.  Three of four semi-final slots are claimed, one remains, and only two teams are still in the running for it.  They meet today in Flight 4

Victory had the better record in their Louis Vuitton Act matches by 3 to 2, while Desafío won their RR1 match by 35 seconds, building a big lead on the first leg and never letting it get close thereafter.  That one was sailed in 8-10 knots of wind which seems to be a sweet spot for the nearly impeccable Spanish crew.  Victory has been quietly winning against all but the top three teams.  With so much riding on this, it's the biggest race of the regatta so far.

A Victory win keep them alive and, provided the Swedes also won out against ETNZ and Mascalzone, it would force Desafío to find a win against either Luna Rossa or BMW Oracle to make the semi's.  If Victory loses here, Desafío would secure a fourth place finish and advance to the semi-finals.

Elsewhere: ETNZ-Luna Rossa could be a semi-final preview race, but with both teams already assured they are in, this isn't a must win.  Both could still try to take first place away from BMW Oracle in order to get their choice of opponent in the semi-finals.  And both may want to test each other a bit in the pre-start, especially an ETNZ crew that isn't getting the better end of the bargain lately in start box wrestling.  Aside from that, preparation for the semi's looms large, including conservation of both energy and hardware.

Don't look for some of the spoiler teams to give up either.  Looking toward the next America's Cup, the promise shown in a strong finish to the LVC will help land sponsors.  And then there's just the desire to win.  These guys have trained long and hard, producing what many veteran Cup observers say is the all-around best prepared challenger fleet in memory.

Sunday Results, Flight 8

Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Shosholoza brings it home.
click image to enlarge Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Sunday Results:
Shosholoza gets another win, their eighth of the Louis Vuitton Cup.  Clinching a semi-final spot, Emirates Team New Zealand edged ahead in the standings to take second place away from Luna Rossa, who they will race tomorrow.  Mascalzone was mathematically eliminated.  All of which sets up a Very Big Match in Flight 9, Monday, Victory Challenge against Desafío Español.

Flight 8: Complete.  Desafío beats Germany. Shosholoza beats Mascalzone.  ETNZ beats China.  Victory beats Areva.  BMW Oracle beats +39.

View RR2 Standings

Quotes:
Tommaso Chieffi, Team Shosholoza, on their tight win against Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team:  "It was a very difficult race to win. We decided to keep a distance from Mascalzone to let Paolo Cian have his duty and honor and not let them give us back the penalty. It all went well except on the last gybe the spinnaker sheet got stuck under the bowsprit. There aren’t any other teams except the Chinese and us with a bowsprit because it doesn’t work."

Vasco Vascotto, Helmsman, Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team:  "We have had two and a half fantastic years and we are possibly the team with the most fans in Italy. We have learnt a lot in this Louis Vuitton Cup, but we have also lost a lot of races. It would be a pity to throw away this experience, but if we want to try and win the Cup we should maybe improve the team with some big names. For the races we have seen up until now I would applaud Torben Grael and James Spithill because they are doing a great job with the boat they have."

More quotes at ACM

Sunday Outlook:
Weather: ETNZ: SW 9-12 knots, and sunny.

Two races are key, Mascalzone versus Shosholoza and Victory versus Areva.  Trailing Desafío Español, MLCT and Victory need to keep winning to have any hope of making the semi-final.  MLCT's back is against the wall, they must win every race from here on, and even one Desafío win would eliminate the Italians.  Victory is down 3 races with 4 races remaining.  Today Desafío races their lowest ranked remaining opponent, UITG.  The rest of their schedule reads: Victory, Luna Rossa, and BMW Oracle.  Any two wins by the Spanish would clinch the last semi-final slot.

Saturday Results
Flight 7 and Re-sail from Flight 4

Desafío Español rolls over Mascalzone Latino on leg two of their re-match, Saturday.  Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Saturday Results:

Shosholoza led Desafío early, Spain got ahead and stayed there, winning by 0:47 -- the closest delta of Flight 7.  In Flight 4, Mascalzone led Desafío early, Spain rolled them downwind and stayed there, winning by 0:35.  Notice a pattern?

If Desafío wins another race, Mascalzone is out.  If they win two, Victory is out, too.  Desafío has four races remaining, BMW Oracle, Luna Rossa, Victory, and UITG.  Today BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa clinched semi-final berths. Areva and Shosholoza were mathematically eliminated.  

View RR2 Standings

Flight 7: Complete.  Emirates beats Germany, Mascalzone beats China, Desafío beats Shosholoza, BMW Oracle beats Areva, Luna Rossa beats +39.

Flight 4: Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team versus Desafío Español, Complete.  Breeze is up to 12-13 knots.  MLCT ahead at first cross, slightly around the 1st mark, but Desafío rolls them on the downhill leg, leads at the bottom, and 37s seconds at the 3rd mark, 35s at the finish.

Quotes:

Captain Salvatore Sarno, South Africa Challenge: "Most probably Defender Alinghi will win again and if they do, it is not final but 99 percent sure, the next Cup will be in Valencia. If this is the case I hope that we will be able to launch RSA-101 by February next year and have it ready for the first Acts in May. My plan is that we have a two boat program."

Vasco Vascotto, Helmsman, Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, on the future: "At school maths was not my best subject, but at this point it’s not necessary to know calculus to understand the situation. Desafío raced better and deserved the victory." 

More Quotes at ACM

Saturday News:

Victory Challenge requested a re-opening of the protest that Desafío won against Mascalzone prompting a re-sail scheduled for today.  The hearing took place 10:00h, Saturday morning. Update 10:40h: Request Denied

Saturday Outlook:

Weather: ACM: N 5 knots early veering E 6-9 knots with sea breeze.  RepCast: NNW and strong winds early veer NNE and drop sharply midday, as low as 3-4 knots.  BMW Oracle: N/NW in morning, eases and becomes E/ESE early afternoon, 9-14 knot sea breeze builds.

Match of the Day: There could be good stuff in Flight 7, but all eyes will be turned to the Flight 4 re-sail of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team and Desafío Español.  These two along with Victory are in the battle for the 4th place finish in the Round Robin standings, the ticket to the semi-finals.  Everyone else goes home.

This one has the makings of a grudge match, with Desafío beating MLCT in RR1 to leap ahead in the points chase and then Mascalzone sailing well in RR2 to return the favor and get back on track; or so they thought until Desafío successful protested to the Jury over improper backstay use by MLCT and got that result thrown out (see story below).

Elsewhere:  Shosholoza versus Desafío in Flight 7 could be a really good race.  The South Africans gave unbeaten ETNZ a handful Friday, and RSA-83 has gone well in the light air predicted for today.  Still, Desafío has been fast and they have been good and they have not been unlucky.  That's a tough combination to win against, but several teams will surely be rooting for Mr. Uphi's "Soul of Sailing" team in hopes Desafío doesn't pull away.  Before the start of Saturday's racing, here's how the mid-pack looked:

Victory's remaining races are against Areva, Mascalzone, Desafío, and ETNZ.

Desafío still has to face BMW Oracle and Luna Rossa, the top two teams on the leaderboard, but then Desafío was the only team to beat BMWO in RR1.

Mascalzone still has to face the top two teams, plus Victory and Desafío.  Do the math and nothing's over yet, but Mascalzone's job is a tough one.

Friday Results, Flights 5 and 6

Big hand and little hand: +39 bowman checks his watch as the start approaches in Flight 6.
click image to enlarge  Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Déjà vu all over again.  After being found in breach of the America's Cup Class rule, Mascalzone faced Desafío Español in a pivotal race Saturday to re-sail their RR2 match.  Photo: ©2007 Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team

Catching ITA-94 at the second windward mark and leading them to the finish, BMW Oracle came from behind to beat Luna Rossa for the second time in the Louis Vuitton Cup.  See Results Below.
Click image to Enlarge.  Photo: ©2007 CupInfo

Friday Results:

Victory closes to within one point of Desafío, with each race win worth two points it's down to one race.  Mascalzone is within 3 races of Desafío.  BMW Oracle notches a second victory against Luna Rossa, a come from behind win (see a nice photo series at BMW Oracle Blog),  but the two remain tied on the leader board after Flight 6.  ETNZ is the only unbeaten in RR2.

Flight 5: Complete.  Victory beats Germany, BMW Oracle bets Luna Rossa, Mascalzone beats +39, Shosholoza beats China, and ETNZ beats Desafío.

Flight 6: Complete. Luna Rossa beats Areva, Mascalzone beats Germany.  Victory beats +39.  ETNZ beats Shosholoza in a close one. Desafío beats China.

View RR2 Standings

Quotes:
Andrew Simpson, Afterguard, +39 Challenge, on being pushed over the line by Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia: "Jes Gram-Hansen did a great job and managed to hook us, and stitched us up. With practice you expect to nail those starts, but with everything that’s happened with us guys, we’ve probably done 15 practice starts in the last 12 months. That speaks for itself really."

Dede de Luca, Trimmer, Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia Team, on the future: "We don’t care any more about who our opponent is or what the weather is going to be like. At this point we know we have to win all our races and the first mistake will be fatal. We would like to race against the Spaniards immediately and if possible tomorrow. We will try to save some energy for the race against BMW ORACLE Racing but we have seen that nothing can be taken for granted."

 More Quotes at ACM

Friday Outlook:
Weather:  RepCast: NW 7-12 knot breeze offshore, Winds ease after midday to NNE and then become frustrating, variable 2-5 knots, high of 19 degrees.  ACM: NW 7-10 knots, veering to E or SE, possible sea breeze develops.  BMWO: NW 7-10 knots early, easing early afternoon, possible 8-12 knots sea breeze developing, waves .5m or less.

The Horse Race: The Match grabbing a lot of attention will be BMW Oracle versus Luna Rossa, Flight 5, and it's not hard to see why.  Both are tied atop the standings with 27 points.  It would be exciting to see who really has the speed here, nobody more curious than the teams themselves except possibly the Defender Alinghi.  BMW Oracle prevailed in this pairing in RR1, leading at every mark in a race that never saw a delta over 15 seconds, but Luna Rossa made gains on the final downwind.  It's easy to expect another nail-biter.  Still, both of these teams have all but clinched the semi-finals berths, needing only 2 more wins at most, and don't need to win here.  They would like best to get a peek at each other's potential without revealing too much of their own capabilities.

Gavin Brady, BMW Oracle:  "Luna Rossa seems to very comfortably split with the opposition and go for an advantage. When you sail with that kind of confidence, you're a strong team. I imagine Luna Rossa looks at us the same way, and we haven't really seen any weaknesses in them, but maybe some weaknesses will be exposed."  Read more at Got Live

The most significant matches of the day are in reality the mid-pack dog fight races involving Victory, Mascalzone, and Desafío.  Victory and Mascalzone face teams sitting below them in the standings, Desafío Español is hunting big game with ETNZ.  Wins here are becoming vital, the pressure is huge, years of team effort are on the line. 

Desafío leads Victory by 2 races and Mascalzone by 4 races, with the Desafío-Mascalzone Flight 4 re-sail still to come.  ESP's extra bonus point from the LV Acts is coming in extremely handy.  Looking ahead, Victory and Desafío face each other in Flight 9, and if it comes to it, Victory and Mascalzone meet in Flight 11.  Desafío could use some wins against the "Big 3" to help close the door now and avoid these late Flights controlling their fate.

There is a second, after all.  Spinnaker difficulties allowed Desafío to catch +39 at the finish line, for the tiniest of deltas, 0:01.  Two points all the same and the Spanish team looks increasingly like they will be invited to the four team semi-final party they are hosting.
click to enlarge Image: ©ACM 2007/ Photo: Carlo Borlengh

Wednesday Results:

Luna Rossa and BMW Oracle hang on in close races to remain tied for first, at least until tomorrow when they face each other in Flight 5.  Mascalzone takes the match of the day against Desafío to stay in the running for the semi-finals, still trails them by 3 races.  +39, Germany, and China mathematically eliminated from advancing.

View RR2 Standings

Flight 3 Complete:
  Desafío beats Areva by 30s, ETNZ beats +39 by 45s.  Luna Rossa beats Germany 1:02,  penalty on UITG, China loses to Sweden -- no mainsail for China.  BMW Oracle and Shosholoza in a close one, 7s to Shosho at the 1st windward, but BMWO rounds better and sneaks ahead, and wins though South Africa hung close.

Flight 4 Complete:
  Mascalzone and Desafío close on first leg, MLCT leads 23s round the top mark, 10s at the bottom, 15s at the second windward, and the Rascals get a gigantic win.  ETNZ beats Areva. Germany beats China.  LR beats Shosholoza.  BMW Oracle leading Victory early but SWE rounds 13s ahead at mark 1, 17s at mark 2, but BMW Oracle comes back to win by 14s, maintaining a tie for first with Luna Rossa.

Quote:

Vasco Vascotto, Skipper, Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team : "We needed some energy and an extra push, and if we had lost today it might well have been me to step down next! Flavio came this morning – he was the person who put the mast for us after painting, and the first to hug us after the victory with Desafio. Our team has a big heart, a good boat and can win all the races no matter who is on board."

More Quotes at ACM

Wednesday News:

Gavin Brady: "I think minimum and maximum wind limits should go. It may not always be fair racing under 5 knots, but we should get on with it. And if it's blowing 35 knots we should race, even if we have to struggle upwind with just the jib. We're meant to be the best sailors in the world; we should cope."
Read more at Got Live

Also: "Larry, what the [bleep], get on the [bleeping] trim tab!"
  Read Angus Phillips' BMW Oracle story at the BMWO Blog.

Wednesday Outlook and Pairings

Weather: Updated: Much lighter, 3-7 knots, wind switching to SW around 1520, and to S by early evening.  Early forecast said SW 9-14 knots, backing mid-afternoon to SSE (RepCast).

Match of the Day: Flight 4, Mascalzone versus Desafío. This same pairing was a big turning point in RR1, with the Spanish thwarting the Rascals' momentum, but the RR2 version looms even larger.  A win by Mascalzone could keep Desafío within two races in the standings.  A loss to Desafío would leave Mascalzone down at least four races with only seven to go, down five races if ESP beats Areva in Flight 3.  Cameron Dunn will helm in place of Flavio Favini for the Italians (story at ACM).  Do the Spanish get breathing room in RR2 or will it be a fight to the finish?

Runner up: Flight 3, Desafío Español versus Areva.  If the Spanish team keeps piling up the points, they will lock up the fourth semi-final slot at a minimum.  To do so they need the mid-pack wins.  Today they face an Areva team fresh off a day where things clicked, taking on both Mascalzone and +39 in close battles and coming out on top.  ESP has done little wrong though.  A fast design from Scott Graham, John Reichel, and Jim Pugh isn't hurting, either.  Mascalzone and Victory fans will be rooting hard for Areva.

Also of particular interest:  Victory, +39, and Shosholoza face "Big 3" teams that have suddenly looked not invulnerable.  Cup fans will be looking to see what form the big boys show.  With no downtime between the matches, the large teams have been actively substituting crew the last few days, including afterguard and skippers.  A couple stumbles could be chalked up more to the fatigue of the compressed schedule than anything else, but still they have happened. 

Victory needs to close ground on Desafío, currently trailing them by 2 races, and bagging big game like BMW Oracle would be perfect.  For their part, +39 and South Africa need points to stay alive against the rest of the mid-pack, and scoring them off the top teams in the standings would be a huge boost.

Sad Note:  A loss by United Internet Team Germany or China will mathematically eliminate them from the Semi-Finals, as will a win by Desafío.  No one will be shocked that they didn't make it, but it still gives pause that a lot more teams will be out of the running for 2007 by the end of the week. 

For their part, both UITG and China Team have been philosophical about their prospects in this regatta, realizing that participation now is the means to building a much more competitive team in the future.  And witnessing Monday's 3:15 defeat of BMW Oracle by China Team, the surprises probably aren't done yet.

Thursday Racing, Flight 5

Photo: ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget
Click image to enlarge and see more

Thunderstorms, hail, cancel racing for the day.
  Two Flights will be scheduled for Friday.

What to do? See a great gallery of Round Robin racing images from photographer Daniel Forster at Scuttlebutt

South Africa Challenge designer Jason Ker: The New Kid Read the Press Release

Tuesday Racing, Flight 3

Tuesday looked awfully good for a while.
Photo: ©2007 Lyn Hines

Too much wind.  Races cancelled for the day.

Kevin Hall, Navigator, Emirates Team New Zealand: "It was like the southwester in Auckland and we did a fair bit of training in that.  It was very exciting to sail the fast numbers through the water and just go and have a good day.  On the rig we got 38 knots at the top today and we had some five minute averages of over 30 –- that is definitely too much wind for these boats."  

More Quotes at ACM

Monday Results, Flights 2 and 1

Headsail problems caused BMW Oracle to lose to China Team.  An increasingly solid looking Luna Rossa pulled into a tie with BMWO for first place. 
Photo: ©2007 Lyn Hines

View RR2 Standings

Monday Results:
Flight 2:  Complete.  Shosholoza beats Germany, ailing BMWO loses to China, Luna Rossa in a tight race wins over Victory.  Mascalzone-Areva close but then penalty for Mascalzone not keeping clear on a luff -- win for Areva.  Desafío trailing +39 but fights back and nips them at a very close finish (1 second). 

BMW Oracle had problems on Leg 1 with the jib coming out of the foil, China Team pulled far ahead, a second BMWO jib tore out too.  They jury-rigged foresail up on Leg 3 but it didn't change the outcome.

Flight 1:  Remaining races from Sunday complete, with best wind of the LVC so far.  ETNZ beat MLCT by 25s. +39 trailed Areva in a close one.  Too close actually, penalty to +39, win for Areva.

Quotes of the Day:

Ian Burns, Design Team, BMW Oracle Racing on losing the head sail in 13 knots: “It was disappointing. We couldn’t get round intact so they deserve the two points -- these things happen in sailing, its part of the territory really. 

"We were surprised and disappointed to see that failure, but I think it’s a sign of cutting it too close for comfort, and we will be reviewing that and a few other things to make sure that we are good enough to go the whole way.  Maybe the compensation is that losing a couple of points to China Team is not as expensive as losing them to some of the other competitors out there.”

Gabriele Bruni, Traveller, +39 Challenge, on two disastrous races: “Today has absolutely nothing to do with bad luck. It is not possible to have all these breakages in just 14 knots of wind. The fact that it is always the smallest and poorest teams are breaking things is not a coincidence.

"It is clear that tactically the top teams are stronger: they have trained for longer and with two boats, and in certain kinds of situations they have done the same maneuvers many times over the last two years”.  More Quotes at ACM

Monday Outlook:

Weather: At race time buoys showing 13 knots SE (Romeo) and 10 knots WSW (Juliet).  Latest RepCast: morning starting at 11-14 knots, Increasing to SSW  14-18 knots mid-afternoon, becoming S after 1520, choppy seas continue.

Match of the Day: Still Flight 1's Emirates Team New Zealand versus Mascalzone Latino race in a rematch of the RR1 upset.  MLCT has look quick and slick in the right conditions.  ETNZ despite their losses in RR1 tricky conditions, and some less than convincing starts, looks like they still have a lot up their sleeve in the way of performance.  Kiwi fans and Rascal backers want to see their teams back on form in this big test.

Also of particular interest: Luna Rossa versus Victory, the Swedes are continuing their winning ways, but now they meet a Silver Bullet that is looking better all the time.  Skipper Francesco de Angelis took Monday off from sailing, will he be back onboard Tuesday?

Pick to Click? Areva isn't getting many breaks, and their heartbreaker in RR1 against Shosholoza was the worst of it.  Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team and Desafío Español have looked like speed demons in the mid-pack until now.  Areva has done a lot of things right except winning.  Is Areva due for something good?

Sunday Results, Flights 1

Uphill Battle: Desafío Español did what no other team could do in Round Robin 1, beat BMW Oracle. What does RR2 hold?  ©2007 Gilles Martin-Raget

Sunday Results:
Flight 1: Delayed, north course (RC Romeo) underway at 16:05, BMW Oracle beats Germany, Victory beats Shosholoza in a close one, and Luna Rossa beats China Team after trailing early.  Broken spinnaker pole for South Africa.

South course (RC Juliet) start was attempted at 15:50, ETNZ-MLCT in the start box -- but hold everything, postponed for big shift, AP goes up with 45 seconds to go until the gun...  Still waiting.  Cancelled for the day, to be sailed as the second races Monday.

View RR2 Standings

Quotes of the Day:
Philippe Presti, Skipper for today, Luna Rossa Challenge: "My role is usually skipper and helm on the B boat, and at any time I could find myself with the afterguard on boat A as strategist or helmsman. As the races are getting harder and harder it is part of our strategy to rotate the crew so we have the best possible performance on board."

Mark Sadler, Skipper & Traveler, Team Shosholoza, on breaking the spinnaker pole: "It is so disappointing, you can't imagine. To have a second spinnaker pole on board would be too heavy so what can we do? We didn't make any mistakes at all during the race but we had some strange maneuvers. It was all going so well - we were fast and good. And once again we had a material problem. When it happened I thought 'oh no, not again!' We have to keep going of course, but this is really hard to digest. "
More Quotes at ACM

Sunday Outlook:

Matches of the Day:
 Victory and Shosholoza are one race apart in the standings, tied on wins.  Victory won in RR1.

ETNZ versus Mascalzone: The Latin Rascals stunned the Kiwi's and lit up the fans with a great win in RR1.  Encore?

One flight per day in Round Robin 2 unless rescheduling is needed to make up cancelled races.

Weather:  BMWO:  Light and variable mid-day, becoming NE/E 8 to 12 knots mid-afternoon.   RepCast: Ice Rink. Fickle winds, becalmed at 12:30 and not much from SE later in afternoon. Rain showers and ambient temperature of about 19 degrees. Don't expect much more than 3 to 6 knots.

Long Range:  Slow in first half of this week, much better Thursday, and plenty of wind Friday.  RR2 will have a number of medium to heavy air days, unlike RR1.